Banjara are a class of usually described as nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan, North-West Gujarat, and Western Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Sindh province of Pakistan. They claim to belong to the clan of Agnivanshi Rajputs, and are also known as Lakha Banjara means 'Lakhapati', Banjari, Pindari, Bangala, Banjori, Banjuri, Brinjari, Lamani, Lamadi, Lambani, Labhani, Lambara, Lavani, L
emadi, Lumadale, Labhani Muka, Goola, Gurmarti,dadi, Gormati, Kora, Sugali, Sukali, Tanda, Vanjari, Vanzara, and Wanji. Together with the Domba, they are sometimes called the "gypsies of India".[2]
They are divided in two tribes, Maturia, and Labana.[3] 1 Origins
2 Distribution
3 Etymology
4 Culture
4.1 Food
4.2 Dress
4.3 Arts, literature and entertainment
5 Festivals
6 Related communities
7 Gotras
8 Marriage
9 Bamniya Banjara
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Origins
According to J.J Roy Burman, in his book titled, “Ethnography of a Denotified Tribe The Laman Banjara”, The name Laman is popular long before the name Banjara and the Laman Banjaras originally came from Afghanistan before settling in Rajasthan and other parts of India. He states that according to Motiraj Rethod, the Lamans were originally from Afghanistan and there is an independent province and village called Gor in that country.[4]
Distribution
In Uttar Pradesh, they are concentrated in Saharanpur, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Aligarh, Muzaffarnagar, Etawah, Moradabad, Tanda [Rampur], Mathura, Etah, Nainital and Agra districts. [1] In Madhya Pradesh, they are found in the districts of Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Mandla. Many members of this community migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and have settled in Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh. The Banjara community is concentrated in the Rohilkhand region of western Uttar Pradesh. Their settlements are generally known as tandas, which means camp, reflecting their nomadic background. In Pilibhit District, the main villages are Neoria Hussainpur and Bhikarpur, and the Naiks or headmen of these villages were substantial landowners at one time. In neighbouring Bareilly District, the community are found mainly in Baheri tehsil, where they were at one time substantial landowners. The main villages in Bareilly District include Tanda Dayanatpur, Tanda Chhanga and Tanda. The Largest Muslim Banjara populated town is Tanda, District Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Here population of Muslim Banjaras is more than 30,000 (thirty thousand). Here All Muslim Banjaras are from sunni sects. But Banjara community in Tanda, Rampur is lagging in the field of education. No government school could be opened here after 1952. Education specially female educational infrastructure is non-existing. Shahabuddin Ghauri is the first person in Tanda, Rampur who got Masters Degree, He is a social activist and is trying to establish basic educational infrastructure in the town with the help of some NGOs. Etymology
The word "Banjara" must have evolved from Prakrit and Hindi and Rajasthani words "Bana/Ban or Vana/Van" meaning Forest or Moorlands and "Chara" meaning 'Movers'. The Banjara are (together with the Domba) sometimes called the "Gypsies of India".[5]
The word Banjara is a deprecated, colloquial form of the word of Sanskrit origin. The Sanskrit compound-word vana chara, "forest wanderers" was given to them presumably because of their primitive role in the Indian society as forest wood collectors and distributors. Culture
Food
The traditional food of Banjara is Bati (roti). Daliya is a dish cooked using many cereal, such as wheat or jawar. Banjara people also enjoy many non-vegetarian foods. Among the non-vegetarian dishes unique to them are saloi, made from goat blood and other goat parts. In Andhra, fish is their main food. The Banjara are also known for preferring spicy food. In U.P, they are very fond of Malida (mixing Moti Roti, Gud and deshi Ghee). Dress
Traditional banjara dress
Women are known to wear colorful and beautiful costumes like phetiya (as ghagra) and kanchalli (as top) and have mehendi tattoos on their hands. The dress is considered fancy and attractive by Western cultures. They use mirror chips and often coins to decorate it. Women put on thick bangles(bandiya) on their arms (patli). Their ornaments are made up of silver rings, coins, chain and hair pleats are tied together at the end by chotla. Men wear dhoti and kurta (short with many folds). These clothes were designed specially for the protection from harsh climate in deserts and to distinguish them from others. Arts, literature and entertainment
Gypsies-Painting of Raja Ravi Varma
Their customs, language and dress indicate they originated from Rajasthan. They live in settlements called thandas. They lived in zupada (hut). Now many of them live in cities. They have a unique culture and dance form. On many occasions they gather, sing and dance. Their traditional occupation is nomadic cattle herding. Later they slowly moved into agriculture and trade. The accurate history of Lambanis or Lambadis or Banjaras is not known but the general opinion among them is that they fought for Prithvi Raj Chauhan against Muhammad of Ghor. The trail of the Lambadi/Banjara can be verified from their language, Lambadi borrows words from Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi and the local language of the area they belong to. Banjaras originally belong to Rajasthan and were Rajputs[citation needed] who migrated to southern parts of India for trade and agriculture. They settled down in the southern or central area of the country and slowly loosened contacts with Rajasthan, and their original community. Over a period of time both the communities separated and they adopted the local culture. The language spoken by Banjaras settled in Yavatmal district of Vidarbha, Maharashtra is an admixture of Hindi, Rajasthani and Marathi. Lambadi Dance is a special kind of dance of Andhra Pradesh. In this form of dance, mainly the female dancers dance in tune with the male drummers to offer homage to their Lord for a good harvest. At Anupu village near Nagarjunakonda, Lambadi dance originated. They are actually semi-nomadic tribes who are gradually moving towards civilization. This dance is mainly restricted among the females and rarely the males participate in Lambadi dance. Lambadi is a special kind of Folk Dance which involves participation by tribal women who bedeck themselves in colorful costumes and jewelry. The people of Lambadi such as belongs to Rajasthan. Only in the state Rajasthan, they are OBC category and in other states they are scheduled tribes. The Lambadi people have large white bangles, called "bhalia". The bhalias are part of a dress code and it is believed to save anyone wearing them from curses or evil.In Maharashtra also they are OBC category. Festivals
Apart from other Hindu festivals, Banjara girls celebrate, Teej,holi, Diwali. Teej is important festival for girls (unmarried).In shravan month this festival celebrated and to pray lord shiva specially . Related communities
Three other castes that claim kinship with the Banjara are the Labana of Punjab, the Gawaria of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and Lavana of Rajasthan. In Maharashtra they are called the Laman, Gormati,dadi and Banjara. The banjara community needs to be compared with the 'Harappa and Mohenjodaro' history to trace the origin and the pali language and the deep study of Sanskrit words to locate the foundation of their spoken language. Dhadi branch of the Mirasis are musicians, balladeers and panegyrists. Under the patronage of the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind (1595 to 1644), the community prospered and converted in their entirety to Sikhism. Their name is derived from a dhad, which is a small drum, which they use. Other instruments used are the sarangi, the pakhwai (two ended drum) and daf (a tambourine). The Dhadi are associated with singing stanzas called karkha praising the soldiers of the Sikh guru’s armies as well as other hymns.[13] dhadi equated with bhats the dhadi clans 1 Tajnoth surname is kale 2pochalat 3 rathnavat or rathne 4 dongre 5 sehravat shere 6 rudha or rude 7 Baji 8 saglawat sagne or sugunavat 9 Bhimla 10 Bhagrawt or banavath , bane bani 11 ramdas 12 dehavat or Dey. avat, hindu cast dhadi is original bhat cast
Gotras
The Banjaras are grouped into five gotras, or super-families, also called goth or pada in Lambadi. Banjara are subdivided with sub caste as follows :-
badawath / Jadav :- 52 "padha" or sub cast
bhukya/Rathod :- 27 "padha" or sub cast
pawar :- 12 "padha" or sub cast
chavan :- 6 "padha" or sub cast
Ade :-
Some believe the Rahtod/Bhukya gotra is split into two, making Banoth as a separate gotra by itself and bringing the total to five gotras. Others claim the Turi/Badawatis form an additional (sixth) gotra. Each gotra is divided into subdivisions called 'jaath's, which are generally used as surnames of its members. In Rathod goras have many sub gotras Like Ramavath, Rajavath, Dungavath, Dhegavath, Ketavath, nenavath, Dharamshot, Pathlavath, etc.banoth has sub groups called lahori, jatoth, dhanavath, dheeravath, rupavath, pangoth etc... dhadi equated with bhats the dhadi clans 1 Tajnath 2pochala 3 rathnavat or rathna 4 dungroth 5 sehravat 6 rudha or rudi or rudavath 7 Baji 8 sagrawat or sugunavat 9 Bhimla 10 Bhagrawt or banavath, bane bani 11 ramdas 12 Devasot or dehavat or Devavat, hindu cast. dhadi is original bhat cast. Marriage
Members of the same gotra cannot marry as they are considered brother and sister, a term known as bhaipana (brotherhood). Members of different gotras may marry, and this state is known as kai-laageni (not-related). Traditionally, the jaaths of prospective couples are checked by experts known as dhadi bhaat who knew the gotra/jaath system and could identify proper marriages. Nowadays the Banjarpoint website (coded by two Banjara software engineers) fulfills a similar function with gotra/jaath webpages to identify which can marry which. In Banjara community marriages will take place for around three months with many celebrations. Bamniya Banjara
Bamniya Banjara are a class of usually described as nomadic people from the (Bamniya Kala) state of Rajasthan. See also
Banjara (Muslim)
Dhangar
List of Scheduled Tribes in India
Rajasthani people
Vanjari (caste)
Dadi Banjara
Important persons of Banjara, Lambadi, Sugali, Lamani etc. communities
